Page 1388 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 10 April 2013
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The Autism Asperger ACT association puts out a wonderful booklet called What do we do now?—information booklet for families. It is designed to help those families facing a diagnosis of ASD. Among other useful pieces of information there is a list of myths and facts about ASD. It says, for example, that the notion that ASD is an emotional disturbance is a myth. It is a neuro-developmental disorder. It is a myth that people will be cured or grow out of it. They do not. But with early intervention and good educational programs, progress may be significantly enhanced.
It tells us that people with ASD do not behave in the same way, that not all people with ASD have special savant or genius-like skills. And more importantly, all children with ASD should not be taught in the same way. There is not one single treatment that is appropriate for all children with an ASD at all times. Individually tailored programs using a range of teaching strategies are necessary to assist children in reaching their full potential.
All children who have ASD do have significant difficulties in communicating, and with social and emotional understanding. Their lack of flexibility in thinking and behaviour impacts on their understanding of the world. They face sensory processing challenges, speech or language delays and impairments, social interaction skills and self-esteem issues.
The effects of autism on learning and daily functioning may range from mild to severe and they last a lifetime. In the ACT, by comparison with other states, children with ASD are not particularly well served, especially in their preschool and post-school years. There is no argument that dealing with children who have a disability of any kind is a traumatic experience for a family. But for those caring for a family member with ASD there are a few more challenges, not the least of which is lack of understanding by society that here is a child who may look perfectly normal and is perhaps just being naughty or the product of poor parenting.
While neither the causes of or cures for ASD are known, as I have mentioned, it is clear that early intervention can significantly improve the lives of many children with ASD. Effective intervention can make a huge difference to children, families and their carers. It is important that governments appreciate that people with ASD have distinct needs that generic disability services do not adequately meet.
So what faces a parent who suspects their young child is perhaps not developing quite as normally as others in the family? If you talk to parents in this situation they tell you that they embark on a journey of monumental exhaustion, going from one queue to another, eliminating one by one what it is their child does not have.
ASD is a diagnosis of exclusion. The frustration for parents is that they are told funding is available, that help is available, but it all hinges on the words, “Eligible children must have a confirmed ASD diagnosis,” and this is made by or through a range of different diagnosticians. A typical diagnostic evaluation involves a multidisciplinary team of doctors, including a paediatrician, psychologist, speech and language pathologist and occupational therapist. You have a number of tests: hearing impairment, developmental testing and many others, some of which might not be easily available and certainly none that are available immediately.
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